


Rosenhan

by SlaveToGravity



Series: The joy of experimentation - Joshler - [2]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Based on the Rosenhan experiment, Lies, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Hospital, Which is a really good one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:40:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlaveToGravity/pseuds/SlaveToGravity
Summary: What's in our heads can never be heard.What's in our hearts can never be seen.What's in our mind can never be changed.What's in our body can never be cured.At first, it feels alright. After all, it's for science or something like that.But on the long term, it starts playing with his mind.Maybe he's not as sane as he thought.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello frens.  
> You know, I'm kind of obsessed with social and scientific experiments. The first one being the Schrödinger one, which is more on the science side, even if it can become a philosophic one, and now, it's about the Rosenhan one, which is really on the social side. I found it really interesting and inspirational, even if it was a pain in the ass to turn it correctly while talking about Joshler and mixing it with my own style.  
> So here it is.  
> The next one will surely be about the Stanford experiment. Or maybe the Milgram one. Don't know yet.  
> Well, hum, good read ?

_They tried. They wanted to show to the world that people's head couldn't be explored just like that. That the human's mind had more than just a simple disease. Their plan was simple, an easy way to prove that they were right, that mental hospitals were wrong._  
_Say you're sick. Be interned. Say you're alright. Go home._

" - Why did you do that ? Did it look funny to you ? Being here, always inside, no freedom, no independency. You can't do anything here. It's like a cell, literally and metaphorically. Cell in your brain, cell in your body. Why did you think it would be a good idea ? "

Josh said fastly, looking intrigued at Tyler. Fidgeting his blue pen, he tried to draw strange patterns on his skin. He failed, forgetting to remove the cap from the blue pen. Tyler took the pen from Josh's hands, making him flinch. He apologized while removing the blue cap. He gave it back to Josh. Josh smiled and started to draw on his skin again. Tyler sighed. They weren't allowed to have ink here. Josh drew nothing. The blue pen didn't even have a lead. The pen was nothing. Josh was nothing. Tyler sighed again.

" - I already told you. Yesterday.  
\- But I don't remember.  
\- You should. Didn't you say you wrote it on your leg ?  
\- I didn't have a pen yesterday.  
\- You had one. I saw it in your hands.  
\- It was red.  
\- And ?  
\- Red doesn't work on human flesh.  
\- Blue neither. "

Josh looked sheepishly at Tyler, his faded yellow hair falling softly on his pale forehead, some strands of hair covering his black and brown eyebrows. Josh blew his hair away. Tyler felt judged, Josh's brown and green eyes fixing his pupils, not moving, not blinking. Tyler's brown and black eyes started to tear up a little. He didn't like being here. He sighed, looking down. He listened to Josh breath, feeling like every inch of air in Josh's lungs being expelled out of his pinkish and thin lips was some kind of celebration for his victory, victory on this useless staring contest between a sick, twisted person and a coward and lost boy. Tyler sighed again. He was sighing too much those times.

" - I'm here because they asked me to. It's for an experiment, but don't tell anyone.  
\- An experiment ? For what ?  
\- To show that mental hospitals have a bad way to detect true patients. See, I'm not crazy, yet they admitted me in.  
\- How did you do ?  
\- I said I was seeing things that weren't normal. That I had hallucinations. Everything's false, of course. It's all a plan made by this guy... What was his name again ?  
\- Didn't you say it was Rosenhan ?  
\- See, you can remember things without writing them !  
\- I wrote it on my left shoulder with a yellow pen when you arrived.  
\- Oh. "

They both stayed silent after that. Josh looked at Tyler shyly, smiled then looked back at his arm, his hands falling on his lap. He put the leadless blue pen on his right arm and falsy colored his tattoo. A giant tree, with colorful details. Blue sky, green leaves, brown trunk, yellow sun, dark blue galaxy, orange constellations. Some red, dark green, pink, purple, white, black, and an old design of grey lines under the vibrant tattoo. Tyler wanted to touch it, slowly feel every goosebumps under his sensitive fingertips. Josh suddenly gasped, surprising Tyller. He put his hands over his mouth, looking hurt, surprised, intrigued, confused, a mix of emotions and sentiments Tyler couldn't get. He looked at Tyler, drawing with his vicious eyes Tyler's pupils. Tyler put one hand over his heart, feeling the fast beat under his sweaty palm. The beat hitting repeatedly his rib cage.

" - Geez, Josh, you scared me, don't do tha-  
\- What if they accepted you here because you're really sick ?  
\- ... What ?  
\- What if... What if you succeded at entering here, especially here, with me, with all of us, because you are really sick ? You just don't know it ? What if you're one of us ? Did you think about that ? Maybe you're really twisted ! Are you sick ? Don't approach me !  
\- Josh, Josh, calm down ! "

Tyler caught Josh's arms, making the man flinch under his warm touch. Tyler sighed, waiting for Josh to calm down. He listened to Josh's bre ath, counting them, waiting patiently. When he felt like Josh was calmed enough, he sighed and let go of Josh's wrists. Josh moaned and caught Tyler's hand, fidgeting his short nails. Tyler was surprised but didn't move anyway.

" - I'm not sick, okay ? I'm here because of the experiment I am paid for.  
\- How many ?  
\- About two thousands dollars for two weeks.  
\- What will you do with that money ?  
\- I want to buy my own apartement and get away from my parents.  
\- And how many days has it been since you're here ?  
\- Twenty-one days.  
\- So it's already been two weeks. Why are you still here ?  
\- I don't know honestly, they said they needed me two more weeks. And I feel good here. With you.  
\- So you're sick.  
\- No, I just said I am paid and I like being with you.  
\- Yes, so you're sick. Staying here meens being sick, it's not sane. Between only crazy people, sick from their head and tired from heir body. It's being sick feeling great here. I don't feel great, but I feel better than at home.  
\- So you're not entirely sick ?  
\- I'm double-sided.  
\- If you say so. "

Tyler wanted to speak more to his strange roommate, or should he say cellmate ? He never really asked the question to anyone except his brain. And, strangely, the organ beating and hurting in his head never really answered him. He sighed, again, and vividly took the blue pen from Josh's hands. Josh gasped and, with an offended expression, he tried to reach again and again for the blue pen clenched against Tyler's chest. Tyler threw it away, a grin on his face. Josh stopped moving, tearing up. He threw a frail fist at Tyler, hitting weakly the man's shoulder. The right one. Tyler didn't care. He carefully took Josh's arms and, with his other hand, he gently yet firmly took Josh's chin, leveling his hazel eyes to his own brown ones. Josh looked too childish for Tyler's likings.

" - Why did you do that, Tyler ? That's mean.  
\- I wanted to ask you a question, but you didn't answer me.  
\- You asked nothing !  
\- You just didn't hear me.  
\- You're lying again !  
\- I never lie.  
\- That's another lie. And you're mean. "

Josh pushed Tyler away and walked to his bed. He strongly kicked the blue pen, making it fly against the window. The sound resonated, filling the now silent room with a plastic sound too false to be coming from true glass. Josh sat upn glaring at Tyler. Tyler sighed. He didn't like seeing Josh with a false pen falsely drawing on his old and faded yet colorful tattoo. He wanted the man to be cured. He didn't like to lie either, but he surprised himself doing it more and more those last couple of days. He didn't like that, but he felt nice, letting the lies slip down his tongue, letting Tyler breath again. Tyler never lied at home. He couldn't. His parents were strict, too strict for him to lie without being spotted almost immediately. But lying to Josh felt too easy, not right. Yet it was only by this way that, sometimes, he could get the double-sided man's attention.

" - What did you want to ask me anyway ?  
\- I asked you if you wanted me to draw on your arm again.  
\- But with what ? My pen disappeared.  
\- It's by the window, right here.  
\- No it's not. This one is blue.  
\- And ?  
\- I had an orange one.  
\- No, you -  
\- I had an orange one. "

Tyler sighed and walked to Josh slowly. He sat on his bed and took his arm with his warm, skinny hands. Josh didn't flinch this time. Tyler started to draw invisible patterns on the man's colorful skin, deepening his nails until he felt like blood could come out. Josh never flinch when Tyler does that. He liked the color of the bloody liquid inside his body, flying from organ to organ.

" - Green.  
\- No, blood is red.  
\- Isn't it maroon ?  
\- What's maroon ?  
\- I don't know.  
\- Me neither. "

They stayed like that for quite a while, staring at Tyler's nail digging and scarring Josh's skin, making little droplets of blood flood slowly from the thin cuts. They both stopped moving, not looking away from Josh's arms until the door lock resonated inside the quiet room. They both shared a look before looking at the intruder. A man, wearing a white coat too large for him, cautiously entered. He switched the light on and, walking to Tyler's direction, he smiled before grabbing the colorless pen on the ground and putting it on the iron desk with a wooden design. He turned back and smiled at Tyler again.

" - So, Tyler ?  
\- So what ?  
\- How are you feeling ?  
\- Good, better than yesterday. But I already told you, I'm not sick.  
\- Yes, yes, we know. Would you like to come with me ? It's time to eat.  
\- I'm coming. "

Tyler stood up, letting go of Josh's arm. He looked at Josh, seeing the older man massage his forearm. Tyler quickly apologized before following the white coated man. He stopped at the door. The man looked at him, intrigued.

" - Wait, can Josh come with me this time ?  
\- Tyler, we already talked about that, he -  
\- Yeah, yeah, he can't eat with us, I know.  
\- That's not -  
\- But please, just this time ?  
\- ... Alright. But only this time. "

Tyler smiled warmly and took Josh's hands in his. They followed the white coated man happily.

" - Hey, Tyler.  
\- Yeah Josh ?  
\- Did you ever wonder why we don't have two beds in our room ?  
\- Not really, but I guess it's because we're good roomates. "

They walked through the white corridor, not bothering to look at all the drawings of sick, twisted children and adults. Josh looked at Tyler's hand holding his and sighed. He let go slowly, watching his fingers slip from Tyler's hold. He stopped in the middle of the corridor and watched as Tyler kept on following the man, not looking behind, a happy smile on his face painted with soft ignorance. Josh sighed again and walked back to Tyler's room.

" - Really good roommates, hum ? "

_But their simple plan had a problem. A weakness. Once interned, they couldn't get out. No one listened to them, saying they were sick, saying they were as mad as the others. And as time passed, they started to think it was true. Perfectly sane people became insane because of the incapacity of the human beings to comprehend their own mind._  
_Rosenhan became famous for showing to the world a successful failure._

**Author's Note:**

> So, how's it going ? Is everything okay ? My neighbours are yelling at each other since the begenning of this note and this is kind of funny, considering they married each other yesterday. What a cute couple.  
> So, I'm sorry for the mistakes, if there are please, tell me. I try, I swear. I'm just not that good.  
> Right now, I'm supposed to work and read my lessons, considering I have exams (we call them Bac Blanc) but... I have my own priorities.  
> Anyway, I really hope you liked it and, again, I don't know how mental hospitals work exactly, I only know the basics. So if it's not like that, please tell me again, I'll try to do better for the next time (if there is).  
> Oh, and if you know others social experiments, please tell me, I really want to know more of them.  
> With all of that said, I wish you a great day, a great night, a great life, and stay safe my frens ~


End file.
